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Event and network experience: Martinhal Brand Event 2018

Last week the second edition of the Martinhal Family Brand Event took place in Cascais, Portugal. Speakers from all over the world inspired international guests, media and influencers about family and career/life balance related topics. But why traveling to a hotel in Portugal just for a couple of days to attend an event and to network? And why organizing such a big offline happening to spread the word about your brand and give people the chance to meet each other – in times of digital communication and contacts? That is simple:

It takes a lot of effort to organize a successful event. Preparations are always more time consuming than expected. And in times of digital conversations, online seminars and Skype meetings the ‘offline’ event is not often that interesting anymore. Budget-wise and energy-wise. Or not? I don’t believe so. In my opinion a ‘physical’ event where people meet face to face, hear interesting stories, experience the environment and the brand (very important part of a successful event) in real life is still a very strong way to connect with your audience, stakeholders and potential clients. I believe that the power of an inspiring offline get-together is still there. It only depends on the way of organizing it to experience the right vibe and sharing the right stories.

Martinhal Brand Event 2018

On April 27th Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts – location Cascais was the decor of the second Martinhal Family Brand Event. A successful event for moms and dads, entrepreneurs, influencers and media who are interested in the latest family related innovations, products, initiatives and speeches about work/life balance. This year’s edition Esther Goedegebuure – editor-in-chief of the Dutch JAN Magazine – was one of the speakers on stage, talking about the success of the magazine, their very interesting readers audience (= the same audience as for Martinhal) and the challenges of having a successful career and being a mom at the same time. Other speakers shared stories about innovative products (like Trunki and MiniMarie Tea), about out-of-the-box initiatives for parents (like Mumager and Eltern Garten) and about the challenges and great experiences of traveling with your family (Family Traveler).

We sent a couple of Dutch and Belgian bloggers to Cascais to attend the event and get inspired by those personal talks on stage. They also had the chance to meet with likewise people from all over the world and last but not least: experience the Martinhal concept on site. They all came back to me with enthusiasm and got inspired by the topics, people and place. Martinhal not only set up an event but created an experience. The concept was ‘360 degrees’ and fitted the identity of the brand in all possible ways: from the program and speakers to the surprising coffee and lunch breaks and the openings dinner on the evening before te event.

Event with a personal touch

So if you would like to create awareness for your brand or organization and are looking for ways to do so, think of organizing an event. If organized well, it will give a positive boost and make people talk about your brand. An event can be a good way to create ambassadors and fans. There one thing to remember: quality before quantity. Better organize a small scale, personal event than a big general happening. The more personal, the better. This is something Martinhal experienced during their two brand events in 2017 and 2018. The audience became ambassadors, the speakers felt connected to the Martinhal brand and people started talking about the eye-opening topics and well organized experience. Just the way you would want it to be.